Dragon Quest IX: Celestial Carriers
by PercyJackson67
Summary: Long before the setting of the game, when Celestrians were still working endlessly to gather Benevolessence, the rise of an Empire foreshadows a time of great evil ahead. (Set before Corvus' capture by the Gittish Empire). Rated M for attempted (but unsuccessful) rape in later chapters. Don't like? Don't read!
1. Chapter 1

Dragon Quest IX:

Celestial Carriers

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies or any of the other games in the series. Actually, that's incorrect. I own a copy of both Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelations and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies, though the idea for the series, and the copyright of the same are not included amongst any of my possessions. All Original Characters and/or settings included within this story ARE my inventions, however.

Chapter 1- Noctua and Grus

"Grus! Wait up!" Noctua, a young, blue-haired Celestrian girl shouted to her friend as he ran off in search of Gallus. Gallus, Guardian of Swinedimples Academy for the Training of Weapons Specialists, was standing before Yggdrasil at the top of the Observatory, where he was assigning several of the Younger Celestrians to their new masters. Grus and Noctua had been waiting for three years to be assigned, and now their goal was about to be accomplished.

They finally arrived at Yggdrasil and looked at the line of Celestrian Mentors before it, waiting to recieve their students. Of the four Mentors, Corvus was by far the most revered, though Gallus was a close second. Tucana and Phoenix were standing off to the side, impatiently waiting. They didn't see the need to train younger Celestrians, for they believed that they would be aroung for a good while, and still be able to protect their territories.

Grus walked up, Noctua close behind him, and stood next to a bald boy gazing intently towards Corvus. Grus leaned over to speak to Noctua.

"Hey, Noctua, that's Aquila! He's supposed to be very powerful for our age. He doesn't look like much though, does he?"

"I suppose not, but rumor has it that Master Corvus requested Aquila specifically as his apprentice."

"If that's true, then neither one of us'll end up with Master Corvus. He's supposed to be Lord Apus' favorite pupil."

"You never know. Maybe Master Corvus will take two students."

"Maybe."

"Now that everyone is here, I will begin assigning the five of you to your Masters." Gallus began. "Ahem, per personal request, Aquila, you will be assigned to Master Corvus."

"Yes sir."

"Columba, you have been assigned to Master Phoenix."

"Yes sir!" Columba, a young, pink-haired girl had always hoped, secretly, to NOT end up with one of the more important Masters, she had always wanted to be assigned to someone like Master Phoenix.

"Pavo, you'll be working with Master Tucana."

"Yes sir." Pavo, a silver-haired girl who was a year younger than Grusand Noctua, but still stood at least three inches above them, sighed. She had always considered herself to be exceedingly powerful, for a girl her age,and had hoped to at least be paired with Gallus.

"Hey, Noctua, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"There's only four mentors this year. There's five of us. That means one of us will be left out."

"You're right!" Noctua thought about it for a minute, then replied, "I hope you get the last apprentice spot. I can wait another year."

"Really? Thanks!"

"And finally, Grus, you will be my apprentice." Gallus finished.

Grus was beaming. He had finally been selected as a pupil! "Yes sir!"

Noctua, while happy for her friend, was disappointed. She had really hoped to be chosen.

Later that night, Noctua waited for Grus by the portal, where he and Master Gallus were to depart on their first assignment as Master and pupil.

Finally, the blonde boy and his Master walked down the stairs. "Hey Noctua. Sorry you didn't get chosen."

"It's okay. It's not your fault."

Gallus looked down at his young apprentice. "We must hurry. I sense trouble heading for Swinedimples."

"Yes Master. Well, goodbye, Noctua."

"Have fun, Grus."

"I'll try." And with that, Gallus and Grus leapt into the air and descended to the Protectorate.

Noctua sighed again. _That might've been me._

Ten minutes later, Grus and Gallus were outside the gates of Swinedimples.

"Master, is there any way to conceal our wings?"

"Why do you want to do that?"

"I don't want to look odd amongst the Mortals."

"Not to worry, they can't see us."

"Then how do they know about us?"

"The Almighty told their ancestors that we would be watching over them, and they told their children, and they told their children, and so on and so forth. They pretty much just take our existence on faith."

"Wow. They must have a lot of faith to believe in something they can't see."

"That they do. But enough of that. Aren't you cold?"

"Master?"

"You must have been in such a hurry to report for duty that you forgot to put on your shirt.

Grus glanced down at his tunic, and laughed. After he had recieved his tunic, he had cut part of it off, making it so that his chest was exposed. He had always been very fit for his age, and liked to show off in front of his friends.

"No Master. I cut it off myself. I don't really get cold anyhow, but thank you for asking."

"No need to thank me. I was just doing my job. I'm supposed to keep you safe, after all."

"True."

Just then, Gallus saw the trouble he had sensed coming. "Grus, watch out!"

Grus dove out of the way as three spears of ice went hurtling past. He stood up and looked behind him to see five Shivery Shrubberies waddling towards them. One of them opened up its mouth and spat another spear of ice at them. Gallus drew his sword, a Steel Broadsword, and deflected the spear. He then thrusted his sword out and, with a flick of his wrist, cut the Shrubbery in two.

The other four stayed back and watched as their comrade fell. Then, they all spat three more spears each in rapid succession, which Gallus deflected, with no small amount of difficulty. Grus saw that his master was in trouble, so he drew his Copper Sword and charged. He jumped into the air, flapping his wings thrice, then descending quickly, swinging his sword down to cleave one of the Shrubberies down the middle. It noticed him, however, and swung its head around quickly, sending three small shards of ice flying towards him. He could do nothing to stop them, only watch as he fell to his certain doom. Just then, however, a small fireball went roaring past, and liquefied the three ice shards instantly.

Grus looked at his master and saw that he had already dispatched the other three Shrubberies, but was leaving the last one for him to take care of. Grus smiled at the thought that Master Gallus trusted him that much, then steeled his body with determination, determined to not disappoint his master. He finished his swing, leaving but a small scratch on the Shrubbery's temple. The Shrubbery made a sound that Grus assumed was laughter, but was silenced as he summoned the magic required to cast a sharp gust of wind at it, then cast the spell.

"WOOSH!" He said under his breath, then swiped his hand through the air. The wind responded to his command, then gusted forth, cleanly slicing the icy monster in half.

Grus struggled to catch his breath, magic had never come very easily to him, and this time was no exception.

"Well done, Grus. Once you rest up a bit, we'll head inside and see if any of the teachers or students need help with something."

"How'll we do that if they can't see us?"

"You'll see."

**So, just lemme know what you think. The next chapter will be a bit of an explanation of what's going on, in case anything is unclear. Also, it'll also contain some basic information on the characters, such as physical descriptions and whatnot.**


	2. A little info

Dragon Quest IX:

Celestial Carriers

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies or any of the other games in the series. All Original Characters and/or settings included within this story ARE my inventions, however.

Catch-up

Okay, so basically, this is waaaaaayyyyyy back before the time period of the actual game, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies. Right now, all the Celestrians are still working hard every day and night to defend the Protectorate and gather Benevolessence to offer to Yggdrasil. Right now, it's the time when Aquila and some others are still children, studying under Corvus and the others. Obviously, this is back before Corvus was captured by the Gittish Empire and held prisoner for 300+ years. Also, Apus Major is still relatively young, in comparison to how old he is in the game, and is referred to as Lord Apus, instead.

This story will be mainly focusing on Noctua and Grus' POVs, but there will, occasionally be a snippet or so of one of the other characters' POV, especially when I tell of Corvus' capture, as that will be told in Corvus' POV.

Now, for some basic info. on the characters (including those who have not yet been introduced):

Name: Noctua (Owl)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Blue/Straight

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 5" 1'

Weight: 109Lbs.

Age: 11

Race: Celestrian

Title: None

Wingspan: 6"

Clothing: yellow top w/ orange ruffles, purple skirt w/ white band around waist and shins and orange ruffles around ankles, brown leather boots, one strand of hair in a red ponytail

Name: Grus (Crane)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Blonde/Curly

Eye Color: Brown

Height: 5" 3'

Weight: 120 Lbs.

Age: 10

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Apprentice

Wingspan: 6" 6'

Clothing: purple top w/ orange ruffles and exposed chest, purple kilt w/ white band around waist and shins and orange ruffles, brown leather boots

Name: Gallus (Rooster)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Black/Combed to the side

Eye Color: Green

Height: 6"

Weight: 160Lbs.

Age: 28

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Master

Wingspan: 9"

Clothing: White robe w/ orange ruffles, black square with two black circles on both sides on the chest, blue shirt underneathe the robe, brown pants and leather boots, circular glasses

Name: Columba (Dove)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Pink/Two Braids

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 4" 9'

Weight: 95Lbs.

Age: 10

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Apprentice

Wingspan: 5" 8'

Clothing: white open robe w/ orange ruffles around the bottom, light green blouse under the robe, light green knee-length skirt w/ yellow band around waist, yellow leggings, brown leather boots, semi-circle glasses

Name: Tucana (Toucan)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Blue/Ponytail

Eye Color: Pink

Height: 5" 8'

Weight: 140 Lbs.

Age: 20

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Master

Wingspan: 7" 4'

Clothing: silver sleeveless v-neck top w/ orange ruffles around bottom, red ankle-length cape, red knee-length skirt w/ white ruffles aroung the bottom, lime green leggings, brown leather boots, red arm-gloves from mid-biceps to wrists

Name: Aquila (Eagle)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Black/Bald

Eye Color: Black

Height: 5" 6'

Weight: 140Lbs.

Age: 13

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Apprentice

Wingspan: 7"

Clothing: blue vest w/ yellow and orange ruffles, blue, orange and yellow kilt w/ yellow and orange ruffles, black leggings, yellow DBZ Saiyan-style boots, black armbands from elbow to wrist, black sleeveless shirt under the vest

Name: Pavo (Peacock)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Silver/Short/Straight

Eye Color: Silver

Height: 5" 2'

Weight: 108Lbs.

Age: 12

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Apprentice

Wingspan: 6" 8'

Clothing: Black sleeveless top w/ exposed stomach and shoulders, black short skirt w/ red shin-length ruffles, black knee socks, brown leather shoes, black arm-gloves from mid biceps to wrists, violet cape attached to skirt

Name: Corvus (Crow/Raven)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Blonde/Long/Straight

Eye Color: Red

Height: 6" 5'

Weight: 190Lbs.

Age: 34

Race: Celestrian

Title: Guardian Master

Wingspan: 10"

Clothing: Gray shirt with red, yellow, green and black stripes around bottom and up the center of chest, red undershirt, gray armbands from elbow to wrist, yellow leather kilt w/ green shin-length underskirt, red leggings, yellow leather sandals

Name: Phoenix (Phoenix)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Red/Bearded/Curly

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6" 9'

Weight: 240Lbs.

Age: 30

Race: Celestrian

Title: Blacksmith Master

Wingspan: 8" 9'

Clothing: plain green tunic, steel cuirass w/ steel ruffles, brown leather wristbands, lime green leggings, brown leather sandals, Soldier's Sword in a brown leather baldric over the left shoulder

Name: Iarus (Seagull

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Brown/Short/Straight

Eye Color: Pink

Height: 5" 7'

Weight: 135Lbs.

Age: 14

Race: Celestrian

Title: none

Wingspan: 6" 2'

Clothing: purple poncho w/ orange ruffles, blue undershirt, blue wristbands, purple kilt w/ white bands around the waist and bottom and orange ruffles, yellow leggings, brown leather boots

Name: Falco (Falcon)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Blonde/Short/Straight

Eye Color: Green

Height: 6"

Weight: 150Lbs.

Age: 15

Race: Celestrian

Title: Blacksmith Apprentice

Wingspan: 7"

Clothing: blue shirt, tan leather armor, tan leather gloves, brown leather belt, brown kilt w/ blue ruffles, orange leggings, brown leather boots, hammer strapped to belt

Name: Passer (Sparrow)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Brown/Two Braids

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 5" 5'

Weight: 125Lbs.

Age: 30

Race: Celestrian

Title: Librarian

Wingspan: 8"

Clothing: White open robe w/ orange ruffles and connected across the chest, blue tunic w/ yellow belt above waist, yellow leggings, brown leather boots, semi-circle glasses

Name: Apus (Bird of Paradise)

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Silver/Long/Straight and Bearded

Eye Color: Light Blue

Height: 6"

Weight: 210Lbs.

Age: 40

Race: Celestrian

Title: Lord

Wingspan: 11"

Clothing: lime green sleeveless tunic w/ red around the neck and red ruffles aroung the bottom, lime green long-sleeve undershirt, red belt under tunic, dark green ankle-length skirt, brown leather shoes, eagle-headed walking stick


End file.
